Certain beverage preparation machines use capsules containing ingredients to be extracted or to be dissolved and/or ingredients that are stored and dosed automatically in the machine or else are added at the time of preparation of the drink. Some beverage machines possess filling means that include a pump for liquid, usually water, which pumps the liquid from a source of water that is cold or indeed heated through heating means, e.g. a thermoblock or the like.
Especially in the field of coffee preparation, machines have been widely developed in which a capsule containing beverage ingredients is inserted in a brewing device. The brewing device is tightly closed about the capsule, water is injected at the first face of the capsule, the beverage is produced in the closed volume of the capsule and a brewed beverage can be drained from a second face of the capsule and collected into a receptacle such as a cup or glass.
Brewing devices have been developed to facilitate insertion of a “fresh” capsule and removal of the capsule upon use. Typically, such brewing devices comprise two parts relatively movable from a configuration for inserting/removing a capsule to a configuration for brewing the ingredient in the capsule. The actuation of the movable part of the brewing device may be motorized. Such a system is for example disclosed in EP 1 767 129. In this case, the user does not have to provide any manual effort to open or close the brewing device. The brewing device has a capsule insertion passage provided with a safety door assembled to the movable part of the brewing device via a switch for detecting an undesired presence of a finger in the passage during closure and prevent injuries by squeezing. The actuation of the movable part of the brewing device may be manual. WO 2009/043630 discloses a beverage preparation machine including a brewing unit having a front part with a passage for inserting a capsule into the brewing unit. The front part is arranged to telescope out of the machine's housing for uncovering the passage for inserting a capsule into the brewing unit and telescopes into the brewing unit for sliding the passage under the housing and thus covering the passage by the housing. A pivotable arched handle is configured for driving the front part manually. WO 2005/004683 and WO 2007/135136 disclose a device comprising a frame, a fixed holding part for the capsule, a movable holding part which is mounted relative to the frame in a sliding relationship, one or two knuckle joint mechanisms that provide a mechanical system for closing in a steady and fluid-tight manner the holding parts about the capsule while also resisting to the counter-force acting while re-opening and generated by the internal brewing pressure, and a handle for directly levering the knuckle joint mechanism.
The preparation of a beverage by using centrifugation is also known. Such beverage preparation includes: providing a beverage (flavoring) ingredient, e.g. as powder and/or leaves, in a receptacle, e.g. in a capsule; circulating liquid into the receptacle and rotating the receptacle at sufficient speed to ensure interaction of the liquid with the ingredient while creating a gradient of pressure of liquid in the receptacle. Such pressure increases gradually from the centre towards the periphery of the receptacle. As liquid traverses the ingredient, e.g. coffee bed, extraction of the ingredient, e.g. coffee compounds, takes place and a liquid extract is obtained that flows out at the periphery of the receptacle. WO2008/148601 describes a possible example of a device using such centrifugal principle. In this case, the ingredient receptacle is a sealed capsule which is opened before its use. Hot water is fed in the centre of the capsule via a water interfacing part comprising a water injector aligned in the rotation axis. The receptacle is held in a capsule holder which is rotated by means of a rotary motor. Both the liquid interfacing part and the capsule holding part are mounted along roller bearings. The beverage is extracted from the capsule by a plurality of peripheral needles that creates openings through a lid of the receptacle. As the capsule is centrifuged about its rotation axis, hot water passes through the beverage ingredient, interacts with it to produce a liquid extract and the resulting liquid extract traverses, under the effect of the centrifugal forces, the peripheral openings and is projected against an impact wall of the collector. The liquid extract, thus constituting the beverage, is then drained through a beverage duct of the device and collected into a recipient such as a cup. WO2008/148650 further describes a device wherein a flow restriction is created downstream of the receptacle, in particular a capsule, for example, by a valve system which opens or enlarges under the pressure created by the centrifuged liquid leaving the receptacle. The valve system can be formed by a mobile restriction part of the device which is elastically urged against a rim portion of the capsule. U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,605 relates to a centrifugal type extraction cell having a deformable sealing joint for hot beverage preparation machine. The cell comprises a drum and a cover defining with the drum an internal volume. The cover is connected to the drum by attachment ears that engage in ramps. In these prior art devices, the water interfacing part which supplies the receptacle with water and the holding part which holds the receptacle are rotatable along frame portions of the device which are secured together by a closure mechanism such as a bayonet system or the like. The holding part is generally mounted on a frame part via at least one roller bearing. The liquid interfacing part is also generally part of a frame part also mounted along at least one roller bearing. When the device is rotated at high speed during centrifugation, the liquid extract creates important axial and radial forces which tend to separate these rotating parts.
A problem of the prior art devices comes from the difficulty to provide a closure of the device about the receptacle that properly resists to axial and radial forces created by the centrifugal pressure of the liquid. Some systems have been proposed to provide a solution to such problems, notably as disclosed in co-pending applications PCT/EP12/063654, PCT/EP12/063659 and PCT/EP12/063660.
Irrespectively of the extraction process itself it has also been proposed to facilitate the handling of receptacles by system for extracting them, in particular by motorizing the opening and/or closure of the extraction system for inserting and/or removing a receptacle. Examples of such systems are for example disclosed in EP 1 767 129, WO 2012/025258, WO 2012/025259 and EP 12157379.4.